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Mike

@michaelfklein.bsky.social
155 followers 827 following 2 posts

Education and infosec nerd. Purveyor of dad jokes. RT!=endorsements. Views==mine. (he/him)

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Mike
Institute for Security and Technology @istorg.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Hackers target local governments because they store sensitive data and often don’t have the resources or capacity to defend them, IST’s @michaelfklein.bsky.social told Tech News Vision: “They’re target-rich and cyber-poor.” 🛡️ Read more:
technewsvision.co.uk
Local Governments Face Increasing Cyberattacks | Tech News Vision
Cyberattacks on local governments are on the rise — and for good reason.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 19/04/2026
this is just a warmed over david duke speech from 1990
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Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
This is an actual post. This is not funny. This is beyond desperate. This is a deeply unwell man who doesn’t belong anywhere near the levers of power. Every member of his cabinet and Congress is complicit in not demanding his removal now.
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Michael Feinberg @michael-feinberg.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
This was entirely foreseeable, and many of us warned that if the Department abandoned all of its principles, the decent public servants in its ranks would abandon the Department.
news.bloomberglaw.com
DOJ Admits ‘Unprecedented’ National Security Staffing Challenges
The Justice Department acknowledged facing “unprecedented” national security workforce constraints due to high turnover compounded by rising overseas threats and new responsibilities, according to a d...
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evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Yael's post demonstrates something about digital privacy/security that I think a lot of people miss: there is no right answer, just a series of trade-offs. And every person has to make their own decisions avout which trade-offs are worthwhile. blog.yaelwrites.com/options-for-...
blog.yaelwrites.com
Options for Phones at Protests
Simply showing up to a protest leaves you susceptible to all sorts of surveillance, including cameras, drones, facial recognition, and more. There's not always a lot you can do about pernicious street...
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
This is how our government has been corrupted: 1) Donors give huge sums to elect politicians 2) Elected officials rewrite rules in donors' favor 3) Donors make huge profit 4) Repeat We must get big money out of politics. It’s the root of all evil in Washington.
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Eric Geller @ericjgeller.com · 26/02/2026
Scoop: CISA CIO Bob Costello is being pushed out, per three people familiar with the matter, ending a standoff between Costello and CISA's beleaguered acting director, who tried and failed to get him reassigned last month. Two sources said Costello is being reassigned to FEMA.
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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Please read this article to the end. Even before ICE got involved, this started because this *blind man who speaks no English and uses a curtain rod as a walking stick* got lost on a walk and some Karen called the police on him and they tasered and beat him bc he didn’t drop the rod. WTF
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Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Invalidating ID cards based on gender is literally a key plot point in The Handmaid’s Tale. This is horrifying.
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Institute for Security and Technology @istorg.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Around the country, Flock cameras have become a source of privacy concerns for parents and teachers alike. IST’s @michaelfklein.bsky.social joined the K-12 Tech Talk Podcast to weigh in on the recent controversy, impacts on schools, and how #securebydefault could be the solution. 🛡️ Listen now:
open.spotify.com
Episode 251 - Inside the Flock Controversy with Mark Keierleber and Michael Klein
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Reposted by Mike
NPR @npr.org · 21/02/2026
The attack was launched on Thursday and prompted hospital officials to close all of its 35 clinics across the state. n.pr/4tTCzuA
n.pr
Mississippi health system shuts down clinics statewide after ransomware attack
The attack was launched on Thursday and prompted hospital officials to close all of its 35 clinics across the state.
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Institute for Security and Technology @istorg.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
As AI techs proliferates, so too do #cyber attacks, including those against schools, IST Senior Director @michaelfklein.bsky.social told EdWeek. AI tools greatly enhance the capabilities of the average hacker, lowering “the barrier for sophisticated cybercrime,” he explained. 🛡️ Read more:
edweek.org
Why AI Is a Big Problem for School Cybersecurity
Many school districts are ill-prepared to defend themselves against AI-powered cyberattacks.
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Reposted by Mike
Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Scoop: Ring's CEO told staff Search Party is not going to be just for dogs, according to a leaked email I obtained. Said it is "first for finding dogs" before suggesting it would be expanded to be used for crime: www.404media.co/leaked-email...
404media.co
Leaked Email Suggests Ring Plans to Expand ‘Search Party’ Surveillance Beyond Dogs
Ring's CEO told staff the feature is “first for finding dogs,” indicating a plan to expand.
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Runa Sandvik @runasand.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
The FBI was able to access Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's Signal messages because she used Signal on her work laptop. The laptop accepted Touch ID for authentication, meaning the agents were allowed to require her to unlock it. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 04/02/2026
"power holds no value unless it is exercised"
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Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
I am not being snarky. I need my colleagues who wrote on covid school lockdowns to engage with this. To be as loud as they have been about prior "learning loss." Hell, you can cite Tom & Mark's AERJ paper so you feel better that there's some econ somewhere in your argument.
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Kim Zetter @kimzetter.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Exclusive: A cyberattack targeting Poland's energy infrastructure in December used wiper malware that would have erased grid computers and rendered them inoperable had it not been thwarted, a researcher at @ESET told me. The researcher calls the attack "unprecedented" for Poland and "substantial"
zetter-zeroday.com
Cyberattack Targeting Poland’s Energy Grid Used a Wiper
A cyberattack that targeted power plants and other energy producers in Poland at the end of December used malware known as a “wiper” that was intended to erase computers and cause a power outage and o...
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Make it viral.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
WOW. @haleaziz.bsky.social with a new scoop: ICE now gets a running list of every person who is going to be taking a domestic flight inside the United States from the TSA and runs it through their database looking for targets. This explains the Babson College student's arrest.
nytimes.com
Immigration Agents Are Using Air Passenger Data for Deportation Effort
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Institute for Security and Technology @istorg.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
IST experts testified before the Maryland General Assembly this week, sharing our strategy to protect K-12 schools from cyber threats and our efforts to help water facilities in hospital communities become “undisruptable” by 2027. Watch @joshcorman.bsky.social & @michaelfklein.bsky.social:
youtube.com
MJM Committee Session
Joint Committee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Biotechnology Other for Tuesday, December 9, 2025 @ 12:00 PM
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Andrew Morris @andrewmorr.is · 10/12/2025
TL;DR a couple hundred IPs suddenly started exploiting Cisco devices today - Entire exploitation cluster is originating from OVH (@ovhcloudus.bsky.social). - Payloads are interesting- attacker is even checking hardware temperatures most likely to ensure they are not honeypots
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Connie Schultz @connieschultz.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Anyone who has participated in or attended a naturalization ceremony knows how meaningful and joyous these ceremonies tend to be. The cruelty of this is heartbreaking and enraging.
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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
The USG has a new explanation on why they (now admittedly) intentionally killed 2 shipwrecked men. It does not pass the laws-of-war smell test Worse for Hegseth, NYT: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved contingency plans for what to do if an initial strike left survivors." 1/🧵
nytimes.com
U.S. Military’s Boat Strikes Planning Takes On New Significance
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Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Senator Kelly is correct. Plus a Public Service Announcement: KEY section of Department of Defense's Law of War Manual is 18.3.2.1. The VERY rule on the "requirement" to refuse illegal orders gives as its paradigmatic example of what is "clearly illegal: "orders to fire upon the shipwrecked."
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Lily Hay Newman @lhn.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
I was really thrilled to get to work on The WIRED Guide to Digital Opsec for Teens with @aumasson.jp. I think we did a good job but also apologies in advance to the teens that we tried to make jokes and generally Be Chill. Also no paywall to make it easier to share! www.wired.com/story/digita...
wired.com
The WIRED Guide to Digital Opsec for Teens
Practicing good “operations security” is essential to staying safe online. Here's a complete guide for teenagers (and anyone else) who wants to button up their digital lives.
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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Harvard Law School’s Jack Goldsmith: “In short, if the Post’s facts are correct, it appears that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the ‘two men were blown apart in the water, as the Post put it.’” open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
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in shot, i the Post's facts are correct it appears
that Special Operations Forces committed murder when the "two men were blown apart in the water," as the Post put it.
It is unclear from the Post's Seporting precisely what role Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
To put a finer point on this whole thing: "Two people with direct knowledge of the operation" — presumably uniformed military leaders — are accusing the U.S. Secretary of Defense of personally ordering specific war crimes. That's a historic accusation.
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Oversight Dems @oversightdemocrats.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Andrea is one of over 170 U.S. citizens who have detained by ICE. It should never have happened, and we will hold Kristi Noem and the Trump Administration accountable.
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Sarah Karlin-Smith @sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
My 6yo has started pretend electronic locking her bedroom door at night so Trump can't get in. She seemed to think that he himself is going into homes and causing harm. There are children in her school whose families have been impacted by ICE so we assume this is where the concern came from.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
X's location "transparency" feature showing many MAGA accounts are based internationally reveals what we already knew: The world is using American social media and American politics as a slot machine and social media companies are directly incentivizing this: www.404media.co/americas-pol...
404media.co
America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
The vast majority of homeowners with fire insurance never file a claim but we don't say fire insurance is a bad idea. Having the insurance *is* using the system. And I think that people actually understand this *because everyone needs health insurance*
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Micah @rincewind.run · 06/11/2025
spaceballs, the heist!
media.tenor.com
a man wearing a darth vader helmet is standing next to two men in suits .
Alt: 12345? amazing, I have the same combination on my luggage!
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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
"Witnesses and school employees said they thought the school was under attack and scrambled into rooms and vehicles outside in search of safety." One mother who walked in right after described "a room of crying kids, crying parents and crying teachers" www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
washingtonpost.com
Armed ICE officers chase teacher into preschool in Chicago
The arrest appears to be one of the first in which immigration officers entered school grounds as part of an enforcement operation during Trump’s second administration.
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Jake Williams @malwarejake.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
This isn't a time for the FBI to quietly urge anything. They should be yelling it from the rooftops.
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Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
“A transport grid designed for steady detainee transfers” is, quite literally, the EXACT phenomenon that Hannah Arendt was referring to when she coined the phrase “the banality of evil.”
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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
We warned this exact thing would happen. This is why dozens of human rights groups have been calling to BanFacialrecognition.com for years
banfacialrecognition.com
Ban Facial Recognition
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Nicole Foy @nicolefoy.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
9YO citizen caught in Idaho FBI raid describes officers breaking car window to detain his father “I felt scared because they were pointing the guns at me. When they broke the window, I had to jump to my mom’s feet. I had glass in my mouth, and I quickly spit it away." www.ktvb.com/article/news...
ktvb.com
Idaho children struggle after Wilder raid leaves their father detained by ICE
A Nampa family is still reeling after ICE detained their father at an FBI raid. His children recount the fear of that day and their hope of having him home.
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jmcdaid @jmcdaid.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
This is just to say i have taken back everything i ever sent you in the chat and which you were likely quoting in a story Forgive me you're not a journalist so it's weird just letting you know.
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ACLU @aclu.org · 20/10/2025
BREAKING: A court ordered the Department of Defense to stop censoring educational materials discussing race and gender in schools on military bases. Books removed from the schools must be returned to the shelves immediately.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 20/10/2025
Absolute bombshell from @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social: Meta's internal research found that Instagram's algorithms preferentially displayed harmful content to vulnerable teens. I'm glad I left Instagram back when I did, even if it was for other reasons (their anti-LGBTQ policies).
reuters.com
Exclusive: Instagram shows more ‘eating disorder adjacent’ content to vulnerable teens, internal Meta research shows
Meta researchers found that teens who report that Instagram regularly made them feel bad about their bodies saw significantly more “eating disorder adjacent content” than those who did not, according to an internal document reviewed by Reuters.
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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 20/10/2025
Oh nooooo, Lindsey Halligan, this is not how any of this works (15 screens into a Signal exchange) www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
Screenshot of a text exchange via Signal between Anna Bower and Lindsay Halligan.

Halligan: By the way - everything I ever sent you is off record. You're not a journalist so it's weird saying that but just letting you know.

Bower: I'm sorry, but that's not how this works.
You don't get to say that in retrospect.

Halligan: Yes I do. Off record.

Bower: I am really sorry. I would have been happy to speak with you on an off the record basis had you asked. But you didn't ask, and I still haven't agreed to speak on that basis. Do you have any further comment for the story?

Halligan: It's obvious the whole convo is off record.
There's disappearing messages and it's on signal. What is your story? You never even told me about a story.
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Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
EXCLUSIVE: One Saturday afternoon in October, my phone lit up with a notification. I glanced down at the message. “Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began. So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
"Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here."
Anna Bower
Monday, October 20, 2025, 5:40 PM
Share On: f X inK My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about
the Letitia James grand jury.
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60 Minutes @60minutes.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
“We found over 35 cases in which the judges have specifically said what the government is providing…false information. It might be intentionally false information, including false sworn declarations time and again," says Ryan Goodman, law professor at New York University.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
🚨WOW. A unanimous per curiam (meaning no named author) panel of the 7th Circuit, made up of a Bush appointee, an Obama appointee, and a Trump appointee, decline to step in and block a lower court order barring the deployment of the National Guard in Chicago!
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Zack Whittaker @zackwhittaker.com · 14/10/2025
New, by me at this.weekinsecurity.com: If you're not using ad blockers, you should be! In this deep-dive blog, I explain why ad blockers are critical for your online security and privacy, what threats ad blockers can help defend against, and we'll explore at some of the best ad blockers out there.
this.weekinsecurity.com
Why ad blockers are a top security and privacy defense for everyone
Ad blockers can help defend against some of the top hacks, scams, and surveillance today. Here are some of the best ad blockers that you can use.
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Dan Goodin @dangoodin.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
The problem solving required for making Signal quantum safe is as daunting as any in engineering. In less adept hands, mucking about with an instrument this complex could have led to unintended consequences. Yet this upgrade is nothing short of a triumph! arstechnica.com/security/202...
arstechnica.com
Why Signal’s post-quantum makeover is an amazing engineering achievement
New design sets a high standard for post-quantum readiness.
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Institute for Security and Technology @istorg.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
IST’s @michaelfklein.bsky.social attended @cltcberkeley.bsky.social's #EdProtect Research Symposium to deliver a keynote address on sector-wide risks and opportunities: “We don’t need to change the practice of 14k school districts. We need to change the practice of 4 or 5 vendors.” 🛡️ Read the recap:
cltc.berkeley.edu
Student hackers help secure K-12 schools by uncovering vulnerabilities in major Edtech software - CLTC UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity
UC Berkeley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, the Hacking Policy Council, and Bugcrowd hosted a “BugBash” on student information system software.
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404 Media @404media.co · 09/10/2025
Help us investigate book bans across the USA. 404 Media has gotten a grant to unearth public records about systematic censorship of books, schools, and libraries in the U.S. 🔗 www.404media.co/help-us-inve...
404media.co
Help Us Investigate Book Bans and Educational Censorship Around America
404 Media has gotten a grant to unearth public records about systematic censorship of books, schools, and libraries in the U.S.
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